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Leaving Baby To The Dogs, In Dallas

December 24, 2006

The Dallas Morning News reports today on the heart-rending death of a two-year-old black girl in Dallas named Damya Johnson, whose 17-year-old unwed working mother Tiara Jefferson left her with an acquaintance who was in fact a heinously and notoriously absentee Welfare Mom of 13 named Detress Richmond. While Welfare Mom Detress was away (reportedly playing bingo) 12 kids plus the young visitor were left in the care of a neglectful 15-year-old babysitter, and a nine-year-old son of Welfare Mom stabbed poor young Damya to death.

Dallas police Senior Cpl. Janice Crowther said the children had been left in the care of a 15-year-old baby sitter, who was downstairs while all of the other children were upstairs unsupervised. The head of the household, Detress Richmond, a mother of at least 13 children, was not home at the time of the child's death, Cpl. Crowther said. Ms. Jefferson is a friend of one of Ms. Richmond's daughters. Ms. Jefferson said that when she agreed to leave Damya and her 2-month-old sister at the home, Ms. Richmond had assured her that she would watch them until Ms. Jefferson returned. She said she now thinks Ms. Richmond left and went to play bingo Friday night.

...Child Protective Services investigators removed 11 of Ms. Richmond's children, including the 9-year-old boy, from the home and placed them in foster homes...."From the investigators at the scene, it didn't appear that it was a safe environment for them based on what happened," CPS spokesman Chris Van Dusen said. Agency officials said that there was a history of neglect investigations at the home....Ms. Richmond...did not have a job and received federal Section 8 housing assistance.

Neighbor Gabriel Lowe said that the children often roamed the neighborhood unsupervised and that the home was in disarray. He said he stopped allowing his two sons to play there because of what he saw. "Late at night, I'd see 10 kids playing together in the middle of the street," Mr. Lowe said. "It was pretty dysfunctional. Stuff didn't seem right." Mr. Lowe said he was also concerned by the disheveled way the children were dressed for school.

It would be easy to scapegoat Detress Richmond for the toddler's death, but it is Damya Johnson's 17-year-old mother Tiara Jefferson who is the real killer here. There is no way any remotely responsible parent could have failed to know about the chaos that was Detress Johnson's home, and have left her child there, even in Johnson's care - never mind the worthless babysitter. Totally undiscussed in the Dallas Morning News report is the decision the unmarried victim's mother made to bear a child at 15 and then again two months ago, while being totally incapable of providing for her eldest's safety and well-being.

Babies having babies beget tragedy or neglect and dysfunction, all too often. The real story here, which the Dallas Morning News will most assuredly fail to pursue, is what was Tiara Jefferson's upbringing? How does a young woman come to make a series of such flawed decisions, and was someone like modern day Welfare Queen Detress Richmond in fact not somewhat of a role model to her?

UPDATE, 12/25/06: A follow-up story from today's Dallas Morning News has more regarding ongoing state concerns about Richmond's children and her home; and some thoughts from Dallas Police on Johnson's judgement in leaving her two-year-old in the home. The nine-year-old alleged knife killer is described as a known bully.

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Comments:

CPS visited that house EIGHT times. If trained CPS caseworkers deemed Richmond as being able to provide adequate childcare, how can Jefferson be blamed for doing the same thing?

Posted by: Kat at December 29, 2006 12:17 PM

I totaly agree with kat! I personally know tiara jefferson and know that she is an excellent young mother and that Ms. Richmond called and asked tiara if she could watch the girls while she was braiding hair and trying to earn some money to take care of the girls christmas presents, so that she wouldn't have to ask anyone for help. She has made every effort to raise and provide for her children on her own. Her mother was widowed when tiara was three, and she did the best she could to raise 3 children on her own. So do you blame tiara's mother because her father died and made her an involentary single mother and say that she had a bad upbringing? No, I do not! I know the family and they are very good people. Tiara knows that she is a young mother and is willing to accept the consequences and work hard to provide for her remaining child. I would like to mention the fact that CPS visited the home at LEAST eight times and for those eight times determined that the mother,who i belive has been diagnosed with schizophrenia (paranoid), was a safe and fit parent. She is a grown up and has raised or partially raised at LEAST 15 children, so in tiaras eyes, she would adequately take care of her children. Tiara did nothing wrong, accept trust the word of an adult. She will not make the same mistake with her 2-month old daughter.

Posted by: cara at January 4, 2007 01:04 PM

I am totally outraged that no one has been charged in the death of this young child. Though the 17 year old mother is not totally to blame, she is expected to make better decisions to protect and provide safety for her children. I am sure she has been to this womans house and knows that she neglects her own children and would not make a good baby sitter not even for someones pet,let alone a child.

CPS needs to be investigated. You do not need to be CPS trained to know that any household that has been investigated 8 times obviously has some problems. A red flag should have went up upon discovering that this unemployed women had 13 kids. I have worked with women on welfare and dealt with CPS and see the decline in dedication by CPS workers. CPS is supposed to be here to help children, yet they are doing nothing. We see CPS failing our children everyday.

Children are the most precious thing we have and we adults are charged and responsible for their well being.

Any mother who would leave her teen aged daughter to baby sit 12 other children is not fit to make decisions. A fifteen year old can barely watch themselves. They should not be left to attend to over 10 other children.

This young mother trusted Richmond to keep her children safe and she decided to go play bingo instead. She should be immediately arrested and the 9 year old killer should be in some type of juvenile system until at least 21 and should have this go on his permanent record. We are talking about murder here, not stealing a pack of gum. He committed an adult crime and took a young childs life. Her mother is devastated and her child will never come back. Therefore this young boy should be held accountable for his actions. With law enforcement letting him go for murder, I guarantee you by the age of 16 he will be in prison.

I am from and live in Oak Cliff and I understand that most people are in dire situations. Where was Tiara's mother to guide her and say that maybe Richmond wasn't the best person to leave her children with seeing as how she can not adequately provide for her own. This was a senseless loss of ife.

Posted by: Ms. Nikki at January 5, 2007 11:50 PM

TIARA LEAVING HER BABY WITH A "RESPONSEIBLE ADULT" IS NOT HER FAULT. SHE WAS DOING WHAT ANY MOTHER WOULD HAVE DONE TRYING TO MAKE SURE HER KIDS HAVE A GOOD CHRISTMAS. WHY DO YOU KEEP BLAMINGF HER! I UNDERSTAND THAT IT "MIGHT" HAVE BEEN A POOR DECESION BUT WHO HAS NOT MADE THEM? EVERY PARENT HAS MADE MISTAKES IN THEIR LIFE BUT YOU LEARN FROM THEM AND WHO JUDGES YOU? THE ONLY THING DIFFERENT FROM HER AND YOU IS THAT HER BABY HAD TO GIVE HER LIFE FOR THE LIFE LESSON TO BE LEARNED. LEAVE THAT POOR GIRL ALONE!

HE WHO IS WITH OUT SIN LET THEM CAST THE FISRT STONE

DON'T WORRY I'LL WAIT

Posted by: A CLOSE FRIEND at January 24, 2007 08:51 AM
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